


small, insignificant things

by fthh



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Drabbles, F/F, writing exercises
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-17
Updated: 2020-05-26
Packaged: 2021-03-03 03:49:05
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 11,704
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24238336
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fthh/pseuds/fthh
Summary: little writing exercises for when i can't write more substantial things.all f/f(chapters 5 and 6 contain nsfw stuff.)
Relationships: Dorothea Arnault/Petra Macneary, Edelgard von Hresvelg/My Unit | Byleth, Ingrid Brandl Galatea/Mercedes von Martritz, Leonie Pinelli/Bernadetta von Varley
Comments: 11
Kudos: 41





	1. leonie/bernadetta from 15/05

**Author's Note:**

> 1\. Pick a character, fandom, pairing, friendship, whatever.
> 
> 2\. Put on your music program on shuffle/random and start playing songs.
> 
> 3\. For each song, write something inspired by the song related to the theme you chose earlier. You only have the song length. No pre-planning and no writing after the song is over. No skipping songs either.
> 
> 4\. Do 10 songs and post. Make sure to include the song name/artist. (I like doing more than 10.)

  1. Betti-Cola — Motel Six



“I got another letter from my parents,” Bernadetta says, tucking the piece of paper back into the envelope, “they want me to come home.”

“They do?” Leonie climbs onto her side of the bed, rests her head at the side of Bernadetta’s thigh. “And what do you want, sweetheart?”

“I want to be with you…”

  1. ConcernedApe — Summer (Tropicala) (from Stadew Valley OST)



The picnic had been Leonie’s idea:  _ You’ve been cooped up in your room lately _ , she gently persuades,  _ we could just lie in the sun, if you wanted. _

_ I know a place with pretty flowers! _

If nothing else, it had been Leonie’s earnest enthusiasm that got her. Of course she’d want to spend time with the human embodiment of the sun. Who wouldn’t?

So Bernadetta packs her painting supplies — an excuse, mostly:  _ I’m going with you to paint (not spend time with you) _ — but Leonie is happy all the same to spend time with her, so it eases her mind a little.

(To say nothing of the amount of food that Bernadetta brings with her. The quickest way to someone’s heart is through food, or at least that’s what the books say.)

  1. Blue Hawaii — No One Like You



Leonie has freckles, Bernadetta realises the first summer they spend together. It’s cute. She could trace them with a finger, connecting them in constellations that don’t exactly exist in the sky.

“It’s summer again,” she says when she wakes up one day, still in her wife’s strong embrace. The comforter has been kicked away over to Leonie’s side. Bernadetta can’t stand sleeping in the heat, but she likes it when Leonie hugs her, so she compromises. The duvet stays with Leonie in summer nights.

“That tickles,” Leonie protests, but her eyes are still closed.

“S-sorry,” Bernadetta stutters. She hurriedly takes her hand back. On her back, Leonie’s hand starts tracing shapes of its own.

“Go to sleep,” she mumbles. “We don’t need to wake up until later.”

  1. Ladies Room — Pin-Up Lady



Bernadetta hadn’t really realised how muscular Leonie is. Or how attractive she finds muscular women. But here she is, making realisation after realisation. (Women with mussy hair — women with orange hair — women who can ride horses like it’s second nature… okay, maybe she’s realising that she’s into Leonie in particular.)

Bernadetta visibly gulps as she puts her pencil onto paper, and moves it in wild and expressive strokes.

“Bernie? You okay?”

  1. Cast of Mama Mia! Here We Go Again — When I Kissed the Teacher



Leonie looks around the classroom: her students are quiet, for once. She leans back in her chair, satisfied. She’s successfully distracted them with the task of asking them to write about their hobbies.

But then little Alex, one of the troublemakers in the class, raises her hand and everyone pays attention to her, as if everyone is anticipating her to do… something. Suspicious.

“Miss Leonie, is it true that you live with Miss Bernie? Maude said she saw you two kiss in the parking lot this morning!”

… and just like that everyone is noisy again.

  1. The Weepies — Gotta Have You



Bernadetta’s eyes are grey in a way that Leonie has never seen before. They’re so shiny and they hold the world behind them, stories that Leonie would like to listen to.

And she does — they meet most weekend nights at the café near campus after Leonie’s midnight shift has ended. Bernadetta comes during the weekdays, too, bringing her friends with her. She always leaves a note on the table before leaving, knowing that it’ll make its way to Leonie one way or another.

_ Nice hat today. _

There’s a small doodle of the two of them holding hands.

  1. Vashti Bunyan — Jog Along Bess



Bernadetta follows Leonie back to her village to meet her parents. It’s a long drive to the countryside, and Leonie tells her stories of her childhood all the way.

It’s nice to see her becoming more and more animated as they approach the village. She points out the river at the entrance, how she and her friends would spend their days swimming and having picnics at the nearby flower field.

“We’re home,” Leonie announces as she opens the door to her childhood home. She runs, then, to her parents who’re waiting for her at the nearby dining table. It’s a quaint home.

“Hello, Mr. and Mrs—” A giant dog leaps towards Bernadetta and they both fall to the floor before she can finish her sentence.

  1. So Nice — Love Sick



Bernadetta has been sighing a lot lately, and not in the usual I-want-to-lock-myself-away-in-my-room kind of way. She seems… giddy.

“Bern, is everything alright?” Dorothea asks, watching Bernadetta scribbling in her sketchbook.

“Yes, it’s more than alright,” she answers with a huge grin. When she looks down to see what she’s done, a blush makes itself seen across her cheeks.

It’s someone’s name, over and over and over, and at the bottom…

_ Bernadetta Pinelli _ .

Dorothea smiles. Time for interrogation.

  1. Junjo Ohashi — Sherry



Leonie brings the special red wine from the cabinet to the bed, and it only takes her a few steps. The floorboards creak with every press of her feet, so she has to stay nimble.

“Hey, what’s the occasion?” Bernadetta asks, eyes wide. They don’t usually break out the liquor unless it’s something big. Leonie had a few brushes with the law, a few years ago, when she ran from village to village with debts following her.

“I got the contract,” Leonie says cheerily, pouring a glass for her companion. “You’re looking at the Head Knight!”

“Oh, Leonie, that’s cool!”

  1. Haruomi Hosono — Growth



Leonie grows up with the heir of House Varley. Her father is the head of their security, and so naturally they spend time together most of the time. It started when they were kids — Bernadetta’s father had asked hers to let their daughters be friends: Bernadetta was getting lonely in their manor.

And they did — rarely a day would go by when a mop of orange hair ran around chasing Bernadetta throughout the house. The two were loud and rambunctious, but they brought so much joy to the house.

And one day—

One day it just stopped.

Leonie wasn’t allowed in the manor anymore.

A few years later Bernadetta had been shipped to Garreg Mach.

With only her father’s blessing, his meagre earnings, and the clothes on her back, she marches to the heart of Fódlan.

  1. Lady Gaga — You And I



It’s five years now, since they’d last seen each other. Bernadetta’s gotten taller, while Leonie is pretty much the same height.

“Bernie,” Leonie tries on a polite tone, despite the shitstorm they’d been in when they last spoke to each other. “Bernadetta, I mean. All’s well?”

“Yeah.” She says, without the stutter she had when they were younger. Her back is straighter now, and she doesn’t clench her fists together anymore. “You as well?”

“... Yeah.”

Bernadetta’s gotten taller…

… she doesn’t need to bend down so much to kiss her anymore.

“We never really said goodbye, that time.” Leonie plays with the hair on the nape of her neck. “You never really left my mind, if I’m being honest.”

  1. The Ink Spots — I Don’t Want to Set the World on Fire



Bernadetta isn’t really much for public displays of affection. She shies away when Leonie tries to hug her in front of anyone. The furthest she’d go, really, is a brief, brief,  _ brief _ kiss on the cheek before she pushes Leonie away by the chest and is reduced to a stuttering mess.

But throughout her day she’ll have little notes flying out of her equipment:

_I love you._ _B._


	2. 21/02/2020

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> mixed mixed mixed i love women i love women i love women

  1. Bleachers – Don’t Take the Money (Edelgard/Byleth)



There is a breathless surprise the moment Byleth realises for the first time that she has fallen in love. Her hope sinks a little, when reality kicks in: she’s in love with her employer. Her father got her the job. This will not end well.

But Edelgard is the most understanding person she’s met—when Byleth tells her these secrets in low whispers, she only smiles.

“Well, Byleth, the choice is yours.”

  1. Sade – Bullet Proof Soul (Leonie/Bernadetta)



Leonie doesn’t realise she’s bleeding on her elbow, not until Bernadetta points it out after battle. “Oh,” is all she says, her thoughts empty as she’s ushered by healers to Manuela’s infirmary.

Bernadetta fusses over her jacket, noticing the elbow is ripped again. “I’m going to take my sewing kit here and I’m going to stay by your side until you’re fine. Understood?”

Leonie’s eyes look glazed over, and unthinkingly says, “Bernie, I think I’m in love with you.”

  1. Adhitia Sofyan – Number One (Dorothea/Petra)



Petra brings her flowers on date nights. Petra keeps her company during her study sessions, late into the night. Petra makes her favourite spaghetti when she’s had a bad day.

Petra makes her  _ so so so  _ happy. Her chest is about to burst.

“Petra,” Dorothea says one morning, snuggled impossibly close to her girlfriend, under the blankets keeping them safe from the cold Adrestian winter, “You don’t have to do all this.”

“Oh but Dorothea, my dearest, I am wanting to do it for you. You are my number one.”

  1. The Auteurs – Modern History



The fourth floor of the Garreg Mach University is the subject of  _ many, many  _ horror stories. Lysithea stays clear of it after ten because twice now she’s heard books falling out of shelves, unprompted. Bernadetta, once, looking for flora reference books, heard weird sounds coming from the toilet at the end of the hallway which nobody uses.

Petra and Dorothea were studying late one night when some doors were slamming, and they’d immediately sprinted out. Even Caspar, who claims to be the bravest in the Black Eagle House, has had some encounters at two in the morning. He’s since sworn to at least bring Linhardt or Ferdinand for company.


	3. Edelgard/Byleth from 14/02/2020

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> started writing earlier this year during my internship i was bored out of my mind

  1. Aly & AJ – Take Me



Edelgard will _not_ apologise for her crude language, and it needs saying: Byleth makes her horny. The attraction isn’t entirely physical, of course, but right here, right now, she just wants Byleth to push her against the door and devour her whole.

The problem is… she doesn’t actually know what they are. They’ve been texting back and forth for a few months; they’ve hung out (alone, she should add) multiple nights every week, and… huh. It’s kind of frustrating. Does Byleth not _see_ how much Edelgard wants her?

  1. 5 Seconds of Summer – She’s Kinda Hot



Edelgard has a folder in her phone, full of candid photos of Byleth, sent to her by her friends. So far the most prolific contributor is Dorothea, followed closely by Ferdinand, of all people (and much to her horror. How could Ferdinand, of all people, notice her crush on Byleth? It’s okay, Edelgard thinks, because she can retaliate by sending him pictures of Hubert during their study groups.)

(Unfortunately, even Petra, Linhardt and Bernadetta have joined in on the fun.)

It’s two in the morning and there’s a text from an unknown number. It’s a picture of Byleth in her glasses, descaling a fish with stern concentration all over her face. There’s a blur of green near the edge of the picture.

_Greetings, Edelgard. I thought you’d appreciate this._

Oh, _no._ Not Flayn.

  1. The Turtles — Makin’ My Mind Up



Her suitcase is filled to overflowing with her clothes and other knick-knacks that have brought her joy over the years. The day is finally here: she’s finally able to run away with her beloved, just the two of them.

Byleth had brought her to the countryside once six months previously to look at the small and humble cottage they were going to move into soon, and the thought of a simple live delighted her to no end.

Days of idle and nothing nothing nothing with Byleth and maybe her friends whenever they stop by.

  1. Elvis Presley — It’s Still Here



It’s hard to be broken up and stay broken up when the ex-girlfriend involved is your bodyguard. Edelgard feels a migraine fading into existence as she sits at some corporate event, Byleth by her side.

She looks away when she catches Byleth’s eyes, her own face becoming redder. It’s the same look she’s given when they’re about to absolutely desecrate Rhea’s office.

  1. Sleater Kinney — Gimme Love



There’s a desperation to how Byleth peppers small kisses down her girlfriend’s neck. Perhaps it’s the fact that Rhea may enter her office at any second. Perhaps it’s the fact that they haven’t done this in a few months.

Perhaps it’s the fact that she still doesn’t know what any of this means.

“Byleth, I think I l-” Edelgard is cut off by Byleth’s lips on hers. Well, she never finished that thought anyway.

  1. The Cure — Secrets



In the dead of night Byleth strokes the side of Edelgard’s cheek and the younger woman stirs, slowly opening her eyes.

“Yes, my dear?” she asks.

“Nothing. I’m sorry for waking you up,” Byleth answers with a kiss on her cheek.

Edelgard wants to snuggle into Byleth’s chest, but perhaps the grogginess isn’t letting her. Perhaps it’s something else, she doesn’t currently have the mental capacity to analyse every single action. That can happen when the sun is up.

Byleth sighs. In a few moments she will dress and slip out and into her own bed.

  1. Brian Eno — Shell



Little Maude laughs as she picks up another seashell and puts it into her bucket. She inspects it and deems her collection sufficient and waddles towards her parents, handing her bucket to Byleth.

“Make my castle pretty, please Mama, Mommy,” she says with her best puppy-dog eyes, and Edelgard starts arranging Maude’s seashells on the girl’s sandcastle.

  1. Lush — Desire Lines



Byleth murmurs in her sleep. Edelgard finds that out the third time Byleth sleeps over, much to her delightful surprise. The older woman is almost always composed and cool that at first Edelgard almost bursts out laughing when she realises it’s Byleth making small noises.

“You murmur in your sleep,” Edelgard says the next morning with a gentle, mirthful smile. “It’s very cute.”

There’s a blush forming across Byleth’s cheeks, red almost as furious as Edelgard’s covers.

(A few nights later she finds out Edelgard lightly snores in her sleep if she is very thoroughly exhausted.)

  1. Julie London — Easy Street



There’s a signature frantic knock on the door. Edelgard knows instantly who it is. “Go away, Ferdinand,” she sniffles.

“Edelgard, I still don’t have your part of the assignment yet, and it’s due in two hours,” he says, a hint of panic in his voice.

“And if you’d let me talk, you’d know she’s sick today and has passed her part onto me,” Edelgard hears Hubert’s voice in the hallway.

“Ah! My apologies, Hubert. You know this class is important to me and I forgo any thinking at the thought of missing deadlines for it.”

“It’s quite alright, Ferdinand; although, you can make it up to me by buying me my favourite coffee.” Edelgard is absolutely disgusted. She’s alone this Valentine’s Day and the two are out there… doing that? Unacceptable—

She receives a text from Byleth. All is well again.

  1. Years & Years — If You’re Over Me



This what-are-we relationship is going to be the death of her, someday. Technically, they’re broken up. They’ve been broken up for almost half a year now. (And yet, in that period, they have slept together a total of fifteen times. Shamefully, Edelgard has kept count.)

There’s just… something absolutely irresistible about Byleth in her bodyguard uniform, looking all stoic, accompanying her everywhere.

She’ll continue thinking later. For now, all her focus is on Byleth and her lips on Edelgard’s clavicle.

  1. Purity Rings — Shuck



The only light in the room is from the moon, shining through the curtains. It hits gently on Edelgard’s face, and Byleth stops her ministrations for a while to admire her wife’s face. All she can think is beautiful beautiful beautiful and all she wants right now is to let Edelgard know that she is utterly and thoroughly loved: the good and bad parts.

Byleth smiles, all happiness and love, and continues undressing her wife and she is stuck in worship all night.

  1. Hayley Kiyoko — Ease My Mind



Edelgard has been weird all month. Dorothea can see that. She’s been smiling at her phone, and yet weirdly refuses to share what’s so funny. She’s been sneaking around the post-grad dorms early in the morning and in the dead of night.

“Edie, can I talk to you about that assignment from last week? I can’t seem to find the right answer for this question right here…” Dorothea rambles, while a shadow sneaks behind Edelgard.

“Dorothea, who is this B.E. person? They seem to be sending lewd texts to Edelgard.”

“Byleth?”

“You roped Petra into this?”

  1. The Radio Dept — This Time Around



They shouldn’t even be here.

Here is the ruins of a monastery ruined by a war thousands of years ago. Byleth doesn’t know how she ended up here. (It’s the voice in her head. The same one that screams that this face is a familiar one.)

“Come here, Kid! I got something to show you,” Jeralt’s gruff voice snaps her out of her thoughts.

“Miss von Hresvelg?” A man’s voice carries through the grounds and everything grinds to a halt.

  1. Derek & the Dominos — I Am Yours



Byleth is in Brigid to consult on something. That is, at first. One thing led to another and she’s stuck there for another month. This would be a total disaster had it not been the letters they’ve sent each other back and forth.

As it is, it has been two weeks since the last letter and Edelgard is on the edge of her seat waiting for the next one. She’s been restless, every day asking Hubert for any new correspondence.

“I truly do miss her,” Edelgard says, sipping her tea.

That comment broke Dorothea. “Goddess, Edie, just text her like a normal person, I’m begging you.”

  1. Sparklehorse — Heart of Darkness



Byleth has an unbeating heart and a darkness that follows her wherever she goes. She also has a goddess’s voice berating her when she misses the chance to kiss Edelgard.

As it stands, everything is alright, she reckons. Edelgard isn’t in the best place for romance: she’s busy with her final year project thesis and she’s in preparation to inherit her family’s company.

She’ll just be there, a shoulder to lean on, when Edelgard is tired from carrying the weight of the world.


	4. 01/03/2020

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i love women

  1. Alabama Shakes – On Your Way (Edeleth)



This is the twelfth time Edelgard has died on this battlefield. The first few times it was a random holy knight, then then a mage, and then a swordmaster. Byleth has one Divine Pulse left. She’s watching Edelgard. Too far – out of her reach. She _has_ to think of something soon.

Sothis is begging her, now, _Please, child, please._

The last thing Byleth sees is Edelgard. Everything fades to black.

  1. Au Revoir Simone – Crazy (Edeleth)



Edelgard was ten when she realised the reason her heart was threatening to leap out of her chest was because she _liked_ Dorothea. Over the years the reasons changed: Bernadetta, Petra, Hilda, Leonie, and now… Byleth.

Byleth is now explaining something inconsequential about the lures she has to use to get the best fish, while Petra nods enthusiastically. Dorothea is watching Petra with fondness and Bernadetta is attentive, but otherwise uninterested. Edelgard is trying her best to keep distracted because right now all she can think about is _please shut up and kiss me._

“Sorry, Edelgard, what did you say?”

All attention is on her now. She begs the ground to open up and swallow her.

  1. John Fahey – Tulip (a.k.a. When You Wore a Tulip and I Wore a Big Red Rose) (Leonie/Bernadetta)



Bernadetta is at the campus gardens again, hanging out with Petra, sketching as she talks about flowers in Brigid. They are bright and much more colourful, she says, and would like to bring some home to Dorothea the next time she goes home next semester break.

“I would like some, too,” Bernadetta says absentmindedly, eyes still raking over the rose in front of her. When she is met with silence, she looks towards her friend.

“I wonder,” Petra says with a smirk, “if this drawing is for someone for whom you have feelings.”

Bernadetta squeaks at that. “What makes you say that?!”

Petra only points at the bottom of the rose.

_BV + LP_

  1. Nathan Sykes – More than You’ll Ever Know (Dorothea/Petra)



There’s something magical about Petra cradling their child in her arms. Dorothea watches from the doorway, no intention of alerting the two of them of her presence.

“More than you’ll ever know, my dearest heart,” Petra coos at her daughter, “I love you so very much.”

The child’s eyes are shiny and her hands grab at Petra’s braid. She laughs when she catches one and tugs.

“I am so glad you are in my life. You, and your mother. I love you very much.”

  1. Big Blood & The Bleedin’ Hearts – The Birds & The Herds (Edelgard/Byleth)



There’s a teal-haired woman herding her father’s sheep at the end of the village. Edelgard watches from afar as she gently talks to them and feeds them.

They meet at the village tavern. Her name is Byleth. She has impossibly blue eyes and she almost never smiles, or even shows emotion. Edelgard is infinitely perplexed.

Edelgard asks if she can accompany Byleth when she herds the sheep the next day, and Byleth says yes. And so she does. She asks again, and they do this every day.

Byleth starts smiling, now, and sometimes laughs at Edelgard’s jokes, and teases her.

At the end of the second month, Edelgard has to go. She’s accompanied by her retainer, and she says with sad eyes, “I have a responsibility to the Empire. I have waited so long to meet someone like you.”

Byleth reaches for her hands, and her thumbs trace small circles on her palm.

“I will come back in a few moons, I hope you’ll wait for me.”

Byleth replies with a kiss.

  1. Caroline Polachek – New Normal (Leonie/Bernadetta)



Leonie looks around: this is her new normal. Bernadetta’s clothes are all over her apartment. Her art supplies are on the coffee table as she sketches something in her book, lying lazily on the couch. If Leonie leans back just so from her position on the floor, she’ll tickle Bernadetta’s stomach with her hair, so she does.

“Hey,” Bernadetta laughs, one hand reaching to stroke her hair. Leonie keeps her head there, closing her eyes to enjoy being in the presence of her girlfriend.

She almost dozes into sleep when a thought occurs to her. She opens her eyes and smiles. “Bernie?” Leonie starts, gently, “did we move in together?”

  1. Cotillon – Promises 1 (Leonie/Bernadetta)



_You could come over, if you wanted. I wouldn’t be opposed to that :)_

Leonie smiles at the notification on her lockscreen, reaching for her coat and heading over to Bernadetta’s room a few blocks away from hers.

Bernadetta stands on her toes to kiss her in greeting, even though she’s not much shorter than Leonie, and gives her a tight hug. Leonie breathes in her girlfriend’s scent. “Hi,” she says. Her heart skips a beat.

She could get used to this.

  1. The Residents – Mr Bee’s Bumble



_YOU GUYS,_ Dorothea texts the group, _HUBIE IS SMILING. I CAN’T BELIEVE THIS!!!!_

“Are you sure?!” Caspar looks up from his phone, a few tables away from Dorothea and Petra. Soon he’s by her side, crouching to hide himself from Hubert, but curious nonetheless.

“I am! Look!” Dorothea points towards a table at the edge of the garden. Ferdinand says something, and Hubert laughs. _Laughs._

“Oh, this is golden,” Caspar says, recording a video and sending it to the group chat.

  1. Another Sunny Day – What’s Happened to You, My Dearest Friend



The past five years has weighed a lot on Edelgard’s shoulders. Her eyes are exhausted, now, and her hands are rougher. Her arms are toned from her axe-wielding. Still, Byleth thinks her the most beautiful woman at Garreg Mach when she sees Edelgard late at night at the training grounds without her emperor regalia.

“Late night?” She says by way of greeting.

“The moon is beautiful tonight,” Edelgard replies.

They watch the moon until Edelgard lets herself doze off and Byleth brings her to her room.

  1. Nona Hendryx – No Emotion (hildagard exes)



There’s a weird kind of tension whenever Hilda and Edelgard are in the same room. Byleth looks between the two with questioning eyes, but they look away and Hilda stomps off, bringing Marianne with her. Edelgard looks at her teacher, as if apologising for Hilda’s behaviour, and excuses herself to go to her room.

At the ball, Edelgard stands to the side, watching her classmates dance with each other. “Did something happen with you two?” Byleth asks, and Edelgard at least feels _ashamed_ to have been caught staring at Hilda and Marianne dancing.

“I’d rather forget, but you can ask Hubert about it,” she says, and Byleth does.

“Oh, that,” Hubert says, taking a sip of the champagne. “They were together for a while, and ended on bad terms.”

  1. Hozier – Nobody (Dorothea/Petra)



Petra has to go back to Brigid for a month to prepare for her grandfather’s birthday festivities. Dorothea wishes she could go – has wanted to, for a long time, since Petra first told her stories about her homeland – but she has her thesis to think about so she stays.

Dorothea’s hanging out in the Black Eagles common room when she receives a video call from her girlfriend.

“Everyone’s here,” Dorothea says to her screen when Petra says hi, “Bernie’s here, too.”

  1. Laura Marling – Nouel (Dorothea/Petra)



Dorothea stays behind while Petra is in Brigid. She hums Dorothea’s favourite song as she eats her breakfast, and her grandfather smiles affectionately at her.

“You have been so happy since you went to Garreg Mach, dearest,” he says, “it makes my heart sing just like you are.”

“University is doing well, grandfather, and truth be told…” Petra looks away, blushing. “There is someone who makes me happy.”

“Oh? Then I have to meet the person who makes my granddaughter smile so brightly.”

“Her name is Dorothea, she is in my house.”

His smile is wider, if that’s at all possible. “You should bring her the next time you come home, dearest.”

  1. JP Cooper – Masterpiece



Leonie is laughing unabashedly at one of Caspar’s jokes. She’s been training under the summer sun, so her freckles are more pronounced. They’re in the dining hall, now, the light from the doors casting a faint glow over Leonie’s features.

Bernadetta’s just about to take her seat when Leonie catches her gaze and smiles at her. Bernadetta almost falters in her step.

_Oh._

  1. Angel Olsen — Heart Shaped Face



Edelgard’s hair is grey, again, after it’s been brown for a while. Byleth plays with it, sometimes, and her wife likes it, them, the softness between them before drifting off to sleep. Byleth’s hair stays teal.

Wrinkles form around Edelgard’s face as the years go by. Their children become more solemn now, when Edelgard needs help climbing up stairs. Byleth can still hunt without breaking a sweat.

Byleth watches her wife change before her eyes. Soon, their children are changing, too, and there’s nothing she can do to stop it.

She watches them build their own families, while her hair still stays teal.

She watches her wife let go of her last breath, in her arms — the last thing Byleth says is “I love you,” to which Edelgard replies with an “I love you too.”

She watches all of Fodlan honour the Edelgard von Hresvelg I hundreds of years after Fodlan was unified and a democratic system was established.

  1. Gail Laughton — Atlantis 21,000 B.C.



The first time they met was 21,032 years ago. Then 3,000 years before humans actually started keeping calendars, and then in the year 1180 they meet for real as classmates, and Petra is astounded every time she sees the brown-haired, green-eyed woman humans call Dorothea in their legends.

  1. Rabih Abou-Khalil — On Time



Petra looks at her watch, and then around her. Dorothea is late, which isn’t like her. They’d promised, a hundred years ago, that they’d meet each other in this corner of Enbarr. It’s where they met, after all.

“Petra,” she hears a voice, and a hand reaches her shoulder. “Sorry I’m late, I was watching my great-great-granddaughter’s football game. She was amazing.”

There’s a pang of… _something_ in Petra’s chest at the mention of Dorothea’s family. Most of hers are all the way back in Brigid, with the exception of her one grandson who had immigrated somewhere in Adrestia.

“Dorothea,” she says, smiling. “It is alright. I’ve missed you.”

“Me too.”

Dorothea’s smile doesn’t quite reach her eyes.

  1. Redd Kross — Zira (Call Out My Name)



Bernadetta keeps getting teased about the drummer in the Golden Deer band that she keeps ogling. In her defense, Leonie is very pleasing to the eyes.

(Leonie seems to be dating the bassist Lorenz, though, so she keeps her distance.)

“Aww, you’re so cute, Bernie!” Dorothea says from her seat across from her, watching as Bernadetta has her sight on the drummer that has just entered the cafeteria.

“I agree,” Petra says, next to Dorothea. Even Hubert, stoic Hubert, who is usually above all this — he cracks a smile, encouraging his best friend to go approach Leonie.

“Hi Bernie!” Leonie approaches their bench and, oh, everything fades to black.

  1. Marika Hackman — My Lover Cindy



There’s no other way to put it: Edelgard is _horny._ The thing is, the person she’s thirsting after is her former professor, so. Yeah.

She’s sitting across from Byleth and they’re having tea and Byleth is going on about fishing and asking Edelgard about her drawings and Edelgard can’t concentrate for the life of her.

“El?”

“Um— Yeah? Did you say something?”

  1. Hailee Steinfeld & Grey — Starving (ft. Zedd)



Bernadetta was never really the romance type - her friendships have always been enough for her. And so it perplexes her why she feels a weird kind of affection this time when she passes one of her embroidered flowers to Leonie.

“I hope you like it!” Bernadetta shoves it in Leonie’s hands before sprinting away.

Hilda and Dorothea look on, smiling. Oh, who’s going to break it to those two?

  1. Coven — For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge



It’s twelve in the morning on a Friday night. They should all be out now having the time of their lives. But here they are, accompanying Hubert in the old abandoned dorm. (Somehow, he has roped _all_ the Black Eagles into this endeavour: including Linhardt and Edelgard and Ferdinand. Lysithea is here too, out of curiosity.)

That’s how they summoned the Ashen Demon in the year 2020.


	5. dorothea/petra from 21/05/2020

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i love these 2 so much it's unreal
> 
> also, nsfw-ish warning

  1. Emtidi — Love Time Rain



The soft pitter-patter of raindrops against the zinc roof wakes her up with a start. Petra, still in her arms, is still deep in her sleep, unbothered, used to the white noise. Dorothea stifles a yawn; the minimal sunlight streaming through the curtains tells her it’s barely six o’clock.

It’s their last day here, tucked in a small corner of the island. Soon they’ll have to come back to the capital and they’ll have to bear their responsibilities again, as queens of a newly independent nation. There is still much work to do.

But for now…

Dorothea kisses her wife’s shoulder, drifts back to sleep.

  1. Jay Som — Baybee



It’s a game, at this point. It has to be. Petra doesn’t know how much clearer she can get with her flirting with Dorothea. She’s straight-up said, “you are interesting — I would like to get to know you,” and Dorothea hasn’t said anything?

(If only Dorothea knew. She only has to ask, for hugs, for kisses, for touches, anything. Anything. Anything.)

So what is stopping her?

Dorothea says these things, these dangerous things, but stops as soon as Petra even hints at reciprocating them. It’s driving her absolutely mad.

  1. Cleaners From Venus — Wivenhoe Bells II



The nights are hot in the summer, so Dorothea sleeps with her windows open. Her room is on the ground floor, so she sleeps lightly in case an unwanted visitor breaks in. Realistically this won’t happen, of course, since she’s a high-ranking general in the empire, but it never hurts to be too careful.

But when Petra sleeps over, she feels safe.

When Petra sleeps over, she dreams about a quiet and peaceful life after the war.

  1. Arab Strap — Leave the Day Free



“Hello, sweetheart,” Petra greets, closing the apartment door behind her. “I have brought your favourite donuts!”

At the kitchen counter, working on her song, Dorothea looks over to the box in her girlfriend’s hands. It’s from the bakery across town.

“I was thinking I would like to treat you,” Petra explains. Dorothea doesn’t buy it, only raises a brow in response, waiting for her to continue. “Okay, I might be having a… reason,” she relents. “Can you free up your schedule this afternoon?”

Dorothea giggles. “Of course, Petra, anything for you.”

Petra beams at her girlfriend, placing the box on the counter as she approaches, and finally, finally, kisses her on the cheek. “Let us have a picnic! I have missed spending time with you.”

  1. Frank Sinatra — I Thought About You



Petra’s workload seems to flow easily today. On her walk to the office, she can’t even be mad when a few cars almost drench her from zooming through puddles. She has a smile on her face when her secretary is a half-hour late. (“I understand, we all have our bad days.”) She only laughs when her favourite pen runs out of ink. (She just tells her secretary she’s stepping out to buy a new pack during her lunch hour.)

Petra scrolls through her messages with a smile.

**Dorothea: I had fun last night. Do you wanna have dinner tonight at my place? ;)**

**Petra: I would be loving that! I shall be there at seven.**

  1. Stacey Kent — The Ice Hotel



Petra sighs, scrolling through the page one more time. “Sweetheart, all flights are cancelled. I do not think we can go back for mid-semester break.” She sounds disappointed. Of course she is — she’s been looking forward to this trip since three weeks ago.

“Well… we could have a road trip to Enbarr if you wanted? I can take you around the city,” Dorothea says. “Oh! We could go to the opera.”

Petra looks away, considering. “Perhaps that would be fun.”

  1. BADBADNOTGOOD — And That, Too.



The tips of Dorothea’s fingertips are electric against her skin. She wonders, for a small moment, if it’s actually magic or if it’s just being  _ touched _ by someone that she wants, desires, with her whole being. It’s eating her alive, this voracious hunger for Dorothea to touch her  _ more more more. _

So she arches her back, cranes her neck so that Dorothea has more access. Dorothea, thankfully, gets the hint. She peppers feathery light kisses all over Petra’s neck. Her hands are more adventurous now, exploring her exposed skin. She splays a hand against Petra’s chest. Petra wonders if Dorothea can hear, can feel, her heartbeat thundering.

“Please, Dorothea,” she begs. She doesn’t even know what she’s begging for. She just wants  _ more _ .

Dorothea nips at a collarbone — there’s a hiss somewhere — but she smooths over the spot with a gentle lick, satisfied when it’s red.

  1. Fickle Friends — Bite



She likes being bitten. Petra did  _ not _ expect that being a thing that she discovers at 21 years of age, but here they are: Dorothea is leaving bite marks all over her body and not only is she not  _ mad _ , she  _ wants more. _

“Your wish is my command,” Dorothea says with a chuckle that’s absolutely  _ wicked _ .

The next day Petra goes to class with a scarf on.

(“Hey it’s almost summer, Petra, what are you doing?” Caspar laughs.)

  1. Kate Nash — Pickpocket



Petra stands a bit on her tiptoes when she kisses Dorothea. One time, Dorothea leans down a little to greet her with a kiss.

“I am not  _ that _ small,” Petra grumbles, but kisses her again, again, again. She doesn’t stop the whole night.

Petra can’t really complain: early on in their relationship she discovers she’s at just the perfect height to hide her face in her girlfriend’s breasts, so. It all works out.

  1. The Sound of Arrows — Hold On



Dorothea had half a mind, once, twice, thrice, to give up on this life of hers. Perhaps she’ll be in better circumstances in the next one, she once thought. But then came Manuela, and the fame, which was nice. And then  _ men _ . There’s very little hope she had to hold onto by the time she was accepted into Garreg Mach.

And then… Petra.

Dorothea never once thought she’d ever look forward to another sunrise. But here she is, now, watching it in Petra’s eyes. She smiles.

“Good morning, love.” Petra kisses her. It’s so nice, unlike all those times before, when she went on one date after another. She watches Petra, the shine in her eyes. “I can hear you thinking.”

  1. Homeshake — Home At Last



The drive home is different this time: they’ll be crossing the threshold as wives now. The word is still foreign on the tip of Petra’s tongue: she has a  _ wife _ now. She’s married. She’s sharing her life, wholly and fully, with Dorothea now.

She tugs at Dorothea’s hand, guiding it on the small of her back, encouraging her to take off her garments. “Please, my love,” she says, breathless.

Dorothea’s touches send tingles down her spine, and she’s dizzy and her nerves are buzzing with  _ need _ .

  1. Tori Amos — Crucify



Dorothea remembers a time when she sincerely kneeled at the pews for the goddess to bless her. She remembers praying next to her mother, wearing her Sunday best. It’s all a haze; these memories are more than twenty years old now. She can’t remember the words she used to desperately whisper, for a better life, shortly after her mother’s death.

And now she finds herself calling the goddess’s name in vain. She wonders if this blasphemy will take her to hell.

She doesn’t care. Her mind is on other things.

Petra is tracing her inner thighs with kisses. Trailing upwards, upwards, upwards…

It’s  _ agonising _ , the speed at which she’s ascending. “Goddess, Petra,  _ please _ ,” she whispers.

  1. The Pleasure Seekers — Brain Confusion



Petra enjoys her time with Dorothea. Of course she does. The green-eyed brunette is her best friend. Only…

She doesn’t think that explanation is adequate. She  _ enjoys _ her time with Bernadetta, with Edelgard, as well. But she doesn’t really find herself seeking out their hugs. She doesn’t put her hand in theirs so that they hold hers. She doesn’t lean half her body weight on them in public so that they put an arm around her waist. She doesn’t find herself wondering what their lips taste like with the reddest lipstick she’s seen.

And with Dorothea…

Oh.

_ Oh. _

She’s in trouble.

  1. Fastbacks — Someone Else’s Room



Dorothea’s legs are bouncing. She’s hugging her arms to herself. Her mind is somewhere else. Petra watches her in curiosity, waits for her girlfriend to speak.

Only, she doesn’t. Not for a long time.

Petra wonders what’s different this time. There’s nothing pressing that they need to deal with. By all accounts this is just a normal date. (Granted, they still have to spend their dates in the privacy of their rooms, but. Yeah.)

If only she knew about the ring burning a hole in Dorothea’s pocket.

  1. Super Furry Animals — It’s Not the End of the World?



They thought, they assumed, they’d accepted, the night before facing The Immaculate One, that they’d die on the battlefield. They were desperate, then, to drink each other in.

Petra rammed Dorothea into the mattress.

They ended the night with Dorothea screaming her name, finally pushing her off after some hours, satisfied but anxious, still. Long ago she’d have accepted dying, but now she’s got Petra in her life. She wants one more day, one more week, one more lifetime.

The Immaculate One bleeds away, the Professor and Edelgard looking on.

Later, they lock themselves away.

  1. Alabama Shakes — On Your Way



Dorothea thinks she might have died for a little while. There had been a moment, a small one, where her body lets go and she sees  _ nothing _ .

When she opens her eyes, Petra is hovering over her with a satisfied smile. (Smug. Dorothea kisses it away. Petra laughs.)

“I might have died and gone to heaven,” Dorothea jokes in several breaths. Her lungs may have collapsed in their desperate search for air, she doesn’t know for sure.

“Say hello to your goddess for me.”

  1. Clientele — Lacewings



Petra had  _ always _ intended to introduce herself to the florist in the shop next to hers. It has nothing to do with the fact that she’d seen the florist yesterday, singing to herself while she waters her flowers and Petra’s heart started to dance wildly. Correlation does not equal causation, okay?

“Okay, if you say so,” Bernadetta says, laughing, depositing the last of Petra’s boxes. For someone with a petite frame, she is pretty strong. “Hey! I’m taller than you!” She says, mock-indignant.

“Only by a few centimetres.”

“Well, I’m off. Leonie’s waiting outside. Bye, Petra!”

Petra doesn’t say anything, continues to sweep the floor. The bell jingles again—

“Have you forgotten your pen—”

“Hi! I’m Dorothea, from next door. I thought I’d introduce myself to the pretty new tattoo artist.”

  1. Sarah Vaughan — Just One of Those Things



“Thanks for listening, everyone, you’ve been such a lovely audience,” Dorothea says into the microphone, setting the stand aside. All the while, she’s watching, closely watching, the woman at the end of the bar. How could she not? The woman has been giving her  _ looks _ .

“You have a very beautiful voice.” The woman’s tone is bright, lively, but her gaze is intense, betraying a fiery passion behind her eyes.

“Thank you,” Dorothea says. She gestures to the bartender, bringing up two fingers. There are two wine glasses, then, in front of them. “Let me treat the most beautiful woman in here.” She pushes one of them towards the woman. “I’m Dorothea.”

“My name is Petra.”

  1. Sarah Vaughan — Be Anything But Darling Be Mine



The proposal comes as a surprise, much like Petra’s invitation for Dorothea to be her girlfriend. They’ve been dating for five years, and now here she is, on both her knees, asking Dorothea for her hand in marriage.

“Petra, darling, sweetheart,” Dorothea coos, holding both of Petra’s hands in hers, “but I am nobody.”

“And I am asking, will you be my wife?”

“Petra… you are Queen of Brigid. I am just a commoner. What will they say? I am more than willing to just be your concubine, sweetheart…”

(She says that, but her heart is breaking in a hundred different spots.)

“I am Queen of Brigid, and I will do as I please. I want you to be my wife, my queen consort. I love you, and no one else.”

  1. Alabama Shakes — Gimme All Your Love



Petra hasn’t seen her wife since leaving for work this morning. She’s usually greeted with a smile and a nice little kiss when she comes home, but not today: Dorothea doesn’t even seem to be in their chambers.

“Dorothea?” She asks. The air answers her with a silence she doesn’t find comfortable. It’s six — usually Dorothea is getting ready for dinner. She walks further into the room, reaches the balcony.

“My love?”

“Oh, Petra,” Dorothea startles, and wipes away some stray tears. “I didn’t hear you come in.”

“Are you all right, my heart?”

  1. The Cure — Open



Botanical gardens aren’t really her thing, but Bernadetta asked her to come, so here she is. It’s pretty packed for something at the very edge of the city, she thinks, but it’s nice to see children milling about, enjoying the scenery.

“Yeah, this one just opened,” Bernadetta remarks, but her eyes are trained on the plant in front of her. Dorothea follows her gaze. The dark purple petals are pretty. They’re close in colour to Bernadetta’s hair, but more saturated, more intense.

“They are native to the country of Brigid,” comes a voice from beside them. Bernadetta instantly scrambles to hide from the figure, holds her like a shield.

There’s a woman with fuschia hair matching the flower. She has a mark under her eye. Dorothea wants to touch it. “Oh, my apologies,” the woman says, “I did not mean to startle you. I was being excited that they have included a plant from my country.”

“It’s alright,” Dorothea says, smiling politely. She holds out a hand. “My name is Dorothea.”

“I am called Petra.”

The woman’s hand is soft, soft, soft.

  1. Purity Ring — Sea Castle



Petra is never helpless in the water. She grew up right next to the sea, after all, so why now? She is being dragged down, down, down, and her lungs are clawing for air as much as they can before giving up.

She wakes up with a jolt. Her movements are slow. Water resistance, she thinks. When she opens her mouth the water floods into the new cavity but she doesn’t cough. She can speak, but her voice sounds muffled in her ears. She can’t breathe but her lungs aren’t screaming anymore.

Her heartbeat is there, rapid.

“Oh, you woke up.”

There’s a mermaid swimming in her direction, hair dark brown, eyes a shiny green. Petra is overwhelmed — she turns her gaze lower but, oh, spirits, the mermaid isn’t covering her chest.

  1. Chappaquiddick Skyline — The Two of You Sleep



There is silence, finally, in the queens’ chambers. It’s loud, somehow, the lack of soundwaves echoing on the walls.

“I love you, my dearest, but you two are loud,” Petra coos, tracing her daughters’ cheeks with a gentle finger. She looks beside her, smiling at Dorothea asleep on her side of the bed. “You seem to have tired out your mother.”

  1. Big Star — For You



“Hey, hey, babe, listen,” Dorothea says, cheery, closing the door behind her. She settles on a chair, guitar in hand. She looks at the fingerboard, positioning her fingers. She starts singing, softly at first, and then gaining confidence.

Petra watches on, smiling, smiling, smiling. Her insides grow warm and by the end of it she walks over to Dorothea to give her a hug, careful not to press onto her guitar.

“That was beautiful, Dorothea, but did you have to show me in the middle of the night?”

  1. Big Black — L Dopa



“My love,” Petra says, sporting a mischievous grin, but her hands are tracing the very edges of Dorothea’s ribs.

Dorothea has her eyes closed, lying still on their bed. Petra is beside her, watching? Dorothea isn’t really sure, and right now, she has more pressing matters to think about. Her head is throbbing. Her brain is pounding against her skull, threatening to split in two.

“My love,” Petra tries again. This time Dorothea acknowledges her, and opens an eye. “I have read somewhere, in a scientific journal, that an orgasm can help relieve headaches.”

  1. The Radio Dept. — Against the Tide



It’s a quiet night when Petra enters Dorothea’s bedroom after midnight. She hands some sweets to Dorothea, who’s at her vanity taking off her makeup.

“How did it go?” She asks.

Dorothea sighs. She visibly deflates, stops brushing out the knots in her hair. “I don’t think he’s the one,” she says finally. Her smile doesn’t reach her eyes. “He asked me if I was in Mittelfrank, and then immediately invited me to his room when I said yes.”

“Oh.”

Petra puts a hand on Dorothea’s shoulder, hoping to come across as encouraging, consoling.

“Maybe next time?”

She sounds unsure.

  1. Stars of the Lid — Daughters of Quiet Minds



“Mommy, what are you doing?” Sophia asks, peering into Dorothea’s home studio. “Me and Alexis finished our homework, we’re bored!”

Dorothea beckons towards her daughters, and they take it as an invitation to pile onto her, situating themselves on Dorothea’s lap. In a few years they’ll be too proud to ever do this with their parents, so Dorothea lets it slide even though they’ve knocked the wind out of her.

Alexis looks at the sheets of paper sprawled all over Dorothea’s desk.

“I’m writing a song,” Dorothea says, and deflates. “I’m trying to. I don’t know what to write about.” She lets out a tired sort of laugh, and Sophia climbs further to put her arms around Dorothea’s neck. Alexis, meanwhile, stays put in her mother’s lap.

“Can  _ we _ help, Mommy, please?” Sophia asks right beside Dorothea’s ear, startling her. Dorothea puts a hand on Sophia’s back, a warning, a reminder. They’ve talked about this. Sophia retreats a little, then asks, again: “Can we help, please, Mommy?” Her eyes are wide, and she’s pouting. If Dorothea weren’t about to say yes anyway, she would’ve agreed.

“Alright, let’s write a song, then. Go get your own crayons, girls.”

  1. The Blue Nile — Headlights On the Parade



Dorothea watches the sea, watches the waves crash into the shores. She can hear it from where she is. Maybe tomorrow she’ll ask Petra to spend the day at the beach. Petra always says yes when it comes to beaches, like she’s coming home. Maybe she is — she did spend more than ten years outside of Brigid. Maybe she’s making up for lost time.

She doesn’t startle when she feels arms around her waist, a face pressing against her back. “You have been silent,” Petra says against her skin. She presses feather-light kisses wherever she can. “Is everything all right, my love?”

“Yeah, I was just thinking. About you, actually.” She puts her own hands atop Petra’s, holds them there. Petra only squeezes tighter.

  1. Sun Kil Moon — Gentle Moon



The moon is following them outside, Sophia remarks, laughing. She tugs at Petra’s shirt, pointing insistently until Petra looks outside.

“So it is, my dear,” she agrees, kissing the crown of her head. “Do you want to go to sleep? Brigid is a few hours away.”

“Will the moon still be here when I wake up?” She sounds almost pleading.

Petra looks at the time on her phone. “Yes, my heart, when the plane lands the moon will still be here.”

Satisfied with the answer, Sophia scoots over a little, rests her head against her mother’s chest, and Petra drapes a blanket over her small body.

  1. Gabrielle Aplin — Waking Up Slow



Petra doesn’t remember the exact moment she’d fallen in love with Dorothea, but the realisation hit her like a brick.

She was watching Dorothea rehearse, one day, for a gig. Dorothea was more nervous than usual, her audience bigger than she’d been used to. “I tried to cheer her up,” Petra recalls, “I drove around the city for your Mommy’s favourite foods.

“And then she was smiling at me so widely, and I was thinking to myself: I would not mind it if I grow old with her. I wanted that, even.”

“Wow,” both Sophia and Alexis say in unison.


	6. mercedes/ingrid from 24/05/2020

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> it's mercie's birthday! i wanted to write something short before actually starting something for Mercedes Weekend!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> alright babes i spent the day on twt talking about t*dd**s so uhhhh i might have accidentally wrote some nsfw stuff . who among us hasn't had this accident? lol . (ratings adjusted as appropriate) also! i physically couldn't go past 27 so . yeah .

  1. Norman Blake — Church Street Blues



Ingrid is a devout worshipper, of course. She goes to church every weekend. It’s hard not to, when you grow up one street away from it.

It’s hard not to, when the new nun is sexy as hell.

Well. She never believed in the goddess anyway.

  1. Echosmith — Get into My Car



Ingrid’s penchant for fast pegasi translates very well into her driving fast cars. She finds it exhilarating, driving a metal box, requiring a steady hand and foot in order to remain safe.

Mercedes does not. Ingrid speeds around the city like the streets belong to her. Goddess knows Mercedes likes that Ingrid finally doesn’t feel like an outsider at  _ something _ , but must it rush at 200 kilometres an hour? She prays for her life and her girlfriend’s every time they fly past the green light.

  1. Bright Eyes — Road to Joy



Ingrid was never really a big fan of marriage. When she was engaged, when she was younger, being married meant she had to be a dutiful  _ housewife _ , which was a problem since  _ she _ wanted to do the protecting.

It’s uncomfortable, when the things you want to do clash with the things you’re  _ supposed _ to do. She’s supposed to stay at home and give birth to a gaggle of kids and take care of them until she dies, but…

All she wants is…

What  _ does _ she want?

Not kids, definitely. They scare her half to death.

But Mercedes is really good with kids. She watches her friend, one day, distributing boxed lunches to the kids at the local orphanage, and notes that every single one of them leaves with the biggest smile.

And then comes the two-hit punch:

She  _ wants _ a family.

She  _ wants _ a family with one  _ Mercedes von Martritz. _

  1. Vagabon — 100 Years



100 years from now, she wonders what will be left of her. Ashes? Dust? She doesn’t know. But here she is, now, stepping into her estate with her wife’s hand in hers, hesitantly, cautiously, presenting themselves in front of her father.

“I have married for love, father, and I will not hear a word from you,” Ingrid says decidedly. “I love her and that’s that.”

  1. Jessie Ware — Selfish Love



“I want you all to myself,” Mercedes whispers. “I don’t want to share you with anyone.” She traces over Ingrid’s ribcage, these feather-light touches, so painfully  _ slow _ , when all Ingrid wants is to be absolutely ravished.

“I’m all yours,” she says, panting, begging for Mercedes to go faster,  _ faster, please, _ in her tone. “No one else, no one else.”

The smile on Mercedes’ features is wicked. She bites softly on Ingrid’s collarbone, smooths over the redness with a deft tongue. “Good.”

  1. HAIM — Go Slow



“Slower. Slower,” Ingrid says in broken breaths. She puts a hand against Mercedes’ thigh, barely missing it, weak. Mercedes immediately does so, hips mostly halting but for a small amount of movement.

She leans over her wife, brushes away hair from her face. She’s sweaty in all the delicious ways, Mercedes notes, kissing down her neck. “I love you,” she murmurs against shining skin.

“I love you.” The sound comes out strangled. “Too. So much.”

  1. My Bloody Valentine — When You Sleep



By this time tomorrow, she will be someone’s  _ wife. _ Ingrid is on cloud nine. Above it, even. She’s vibrating with excitement.

_ Tradition _ says they can’t see each other before the wedding, but. Perhaps they’ve gone past “tradition,” Ingrid would argue. They’re two women about to marry each other after fighting a war against the church, after all. Traditions be damned.

… is what she says to herself to psych herself up,  _ again, _ before knocking on Mercedes’ window excitedly.

“What are you doing here?” Mercedes asks, but holds out her hand to help her fiancée inside.

“I wanted to see you, is all. We’re getting married!”

“Yes, so I’ve heard, sweetheart.”

  1. Slowreader — Politics, Music & Drugs



The thing is, she kinda  _ has _ to marry a rich dude, Ingrid muses out loud to her best friend. Her family’s fallen into hard times financially, and they have a whole territory to take care of.

“Well if your parents weren’t shitbags with money management, maybe you’ll have married for love by now,” Dorothea says, strumming a few chords on her guitar. She doesn’t really know which ones, but they sound nice to her ears so she continues.

“Yeah, well, we can’t always have what we want.” Ingrid sounds bitter. She  _ is _ bitter. Her thoughts drift to a certain healer…

And she starts to smile again.

“You’re thinking about Mercie’s tits again, aren’t you?”

“Yeah, and what of it?”

  1. Brandi Carlile — Most of All



They haven’t been to Galatea country for some time now. After the war, they decided to build a new life in Enbarr, Mercedes as a doctor at the local hospital, and Ingrid as a pegasus trainer. She doesn’t earn much, but it’s more than enough for a modest life with her wife.

Until the letter—

It sounded so urgent, almost begging for Ingrid to come home.

_ You don’t have to go alone, _ Mercedes had said, trying to calm her nerves. (Why couldn’t they just outright tell her the problem? That would’ve been much easier— She wouldn’t have spent the whole drive, the whole week before the drive, with such frazzled nerves, snappy to everyone around her. And furthermore—)  _ I’ll come with you. _

_ You don’t have to, babe, I can handle this alone. _

_ No, no, I want to. I took a vow, remember? Through thick and thin. _

  1. Lilys — The Way Snowflakes Fall



They renew their vows after almost twelve years of marriage, back in Galatea country. She doesn’t know how exactly she ended up proposing ( _ again _ ), but here she is, under a large oak tree sitting against its trunk with Mercedes in her arms.

“Remember when we first moved back five years ago?” Ingrid brings a hand up to catch a snowflake. It melts the instant it makes contact with her skin.

“Someone’s warm,” Mercedes remarks with a smile. “That’s one of the things I love about you, you know.” She takes both of Ingrid’s arms, wraps them around her torso. She leans back, and her wife rests her chin against the side of her head. Warm. Cozy. Even in the cold Faerghus snow.

“What, that I’m your walking space heater?”

“That, too, of course.”

  1. Plaid — Hydrosphere



It takes a lot of effort, but they manage to bring the mermaid to the local hospital. Her blonde hair is in a bob and (Ingrid’s words) she has the nicest pair of breasts Ingrid has ever seen.

Dorothea laughs freely at that, as Ingrid carefully gallops to the emergency room.

“Manuela,” she says, her voice soft so as to not awaken the slumbering mermaid, “we found her on the beach.”

“And how did you manage to safely transport her here?” Manuela asks skeptically. Sometimes Ingrid is too fast on her hooves she ends up injuring her passenger further.

“Dorothea was with me, don’t worry. She lifted the mermaid up. She’s still strong because she only turned, like, an hour ago.”

  1. The Cure — Lovesong



It’s going well so far. They haven’t seen each other in a few weeks, but now here they are, making out on Mercedes’ couch. Ingrid doesn’t know how they got to this point, but she isn’t going to question a good thing. She at least has the brain cells to come to that conclusion.

Ingrid sneaks her hand lower, lower, lower, as Mercedes bites on her lower lip. She moans her girlfriend’s name, a desperate sound and Ingrid takes that as a positive sign— she slips a hand under the hem of Mercedes’ sweater, and—

Mercedes stops her hand in its tracks.

They part a little, out of breath, Mercedes pressing their foreheads together. “I haven’t… shaved,” she says, her voice small.

“You know I don’t mind,” Ingrid says hungrily.

“No, my stomach, too.”

“I actually like it,” Ingrid says, looking away. There’s a newer, brighter blush forming around her neck. “You’re extra soft when you’re hairy.”

  1. The Kills — Impossible Tracks



Ingrid falls off her pegasus the first time she ever saw Mercedes. She’s on her way  _ somewhere _ (she can not be pressed to recall) when she sees a fair maiden and her entourage on the way to the Galatea estate.

… Ingrid loses focus, loosens her grip on the reins. She falls off.

“It’s quite lucky you and your pegasus weren’t that high,” the woman says as she heals Ingrid. Her eyes are blue. Only they’re not quite blue, aren’t they? The colour leans a little purple— she’s not close enough to say for sure.

“Hey,” the woman says with a laugh, pushing Ingrid back down into a lying position. “I think you might have had a concussion.”

“Pretty, woman pretty,” is all Ingrid has the ability to say.

  1. Carly Rae Jepsen — Warm Blood



Yes, maybe being a centauress dating a mermaid is a difficult situation. But they make do, because they like each other. Mercedes braids little flower crowns into her hair. Sometimes Mercedes turns into her human form and she takes her girlfriend (or, as Dorothea put it, a teasing  _ giiiiirlfrieeeend _ ) riding further inland. And anyway, they like spending time with each other. She wonders if that’s enough for a relationship.

“If it’s enough for you, then it’s enough for me,” Mercedes says one day. She’s sitting at the docks, leaning against one of Ingrid’s legs.

“No, I mean, I wonder if you want…  _ more. _ ”

“Your companionship is enough for me.” Mercedes looks up, smiling. “I like spending time with you,” she clarifies further.

“I do to.”

(Dorothea’s question lingers at the back of her mind:  _ But like… how do you guys… you know. Do things. _

Well. There’s always magic.)

  1. Eg and Alice — So High So Low



Ingrid’s breasts move in time with her motion as she moves up and down her wife’s strap. She feels it fill her up, full, full, full, and she’s about to burst when Mercedes leans forward to suck on a nipple. Ingrid immediately stops moving, Mercedes’ tongue much too heavenly in its ministrations around around around her nipple.

“Mercie… Mercie,” she moans helplessly, one hand at the base of her wife’s skull to scramble for purchase. She’s about to topple over, she thinks, if she doesn’t have anything to hold onto.

Once again Mercedes lets go of her nipple with a naughty little ‘pop’, leans back, and starts moving her hips again. Ingrid can feel the strap, against her walls clenching ever so tightly. Ingrid leans over, kisses her wife sloppily on the lips, one, two, three times, their hips moving in tandem with each other.

Closer, closer…

Ingrid pants in different breaths. She needs a minute to catch up. Finally,  _ finally _ , she rolls over, and the strap is  _ out _ , standing proudly on Mercedes’ hips. Ingrid unfastens the strap, slowly, slowly, at a speed that is painful and agonising, and smiles wickedly at her wife.

“Happy birthday, dearest,” she says. It’s barely above a whisper. She doesn’t need to be loud. “It’s my turn now.”

  1. The Foreign Exchange — Laughing at Your Plans



She often wondered, as a child, if the goddess had plans for her.  _ Of course she does _ , her father would say. The goddess has a plan for everything.

As she grows up Ingrid would find herself asking about predestined futures and their free wills. To what extent does it play in their lives? Does she have a choice, or is it all fake? Have all her choices been decided by the goddess before she was even born? Before everything existed?

She is startled by Mercedes gently tracing a hand against her chest. “You got lost a bit, there,” she says softly.

“Yeah, thinking.” Ingrid leans over, kisses her wife soundly on the lips. It screams  _ I love you, I love you, I love you— I will love you until the end of time _ . “I wonder if I’m laughing at the goddess’s plans or vice versa.”

  1. Mika — By the Time



Mercedes doesn’t have to open her eyes to know that the slight dip on the other side of the bed is from Ingrid sneaking out.

She doesn’t need to open her eyes to know that the slight rustling of fabric is Ingrid putting her clothes back on, trying her hardest to restrain the noise she’s making.

She doesn’t need to open her eyes to know that the unfortunately loud creaking sound is from her door, its hinges slightly rusty and a few months due on its oiling.

By the time Mercedes drifts into sleep Ingrid will be upstairs on her own bed, and in the morning they’ll wake up as if nothing happened between them, as if they didn’t explore each other’s bodies in the darkness of her room, only illuminated by the weak moonlight streaming in through her curtains.

They can’t afford distractions. They have a war to win, after all.

  1. Julie London — Lonely Girl



Ingrid can’t for the life of her understand why she feels so restless. She’s had enough rest. For all intents and purposes, her life is very much on track right now. Her family is gaining back most of its wealth. She’s engaged to marry some guy her father had chosen for her.

Maybe, maybe…

She looks at Mercedes, and her heart is threatening to jump out of her throat. She doesn’t even know the man’s name. When Mercedes holds her hand, she feels as if she could conquer the world. She doesn’t even know the man’s name. When she is with Mercedes, nothing is wrong with the world. She doesn’t even know the man’s name.

Maybe, maybe…

  1. Dennis Wilson — Rainbows



There is absolutely no need for Mercedes to be on top of her right now while she’s applying Ingrid’s makeup. This isn’t their school days anymore — she’ll gladly sit perfectly still if it means she’ll get two hours of Mercedes in her face.

“Yes, but I like being on top of you,” Mercedes remarks like it’s nothing. Nothing passes over her face — not shame,  _ nothing _ . Ingrid gulps.

“Yes, but… if you… we’re gonna be late…” Ingrid doesn’t finish her thoughts.

One more stroke over Ingrid’s cheek and…

“... Done.” Mercedes hops off of her girlfriend, handing her a mirror. All in all, it’s a nice lesbian flag plastered over her features. Mercedes tugs on her hand. “Come on! Let’s go to Pride!”

  1. Brian Eno — From the Same Hill



“Mercie, your house is haunted! The ghost is here!” Lysithea exclaims, moving to grab Mercedes’ hand to let her lead the way.

“Can you talk to them? I wanna know why they’ve just been rearranging my stuff.”

“Let’s see… um, she says she’s been wanting to show herself, but… uh, she’s— what’s that word… Shy! Oh, she’s too shy to show herself.” Lysithea flicks her wrist, recites a small incantation and — a figure appears, in green garb. “Oh, goddess, please don’t tell me you’re just a shy lesbian.”

  1. Cindy Lee — What’s Tonight to Eternity



The ghost stays after Lysithea leaves. She has a nice voice. Her name is Ingrid. She died a hundred years ago in this very house. It was her own, one she built out of her own money after running away from her estate.

“I’d been a knight,” Ingrid says, conjuring up an image of her riding a pegasus. “I protected the emperor.”

“What was she like?”

“She… knew what she wanted, and took the shortest path to get it. I understood it… I got the life I wanted because of her.”

“And what’s that?”

“I loved women.”

  1. Betti-Cola — A Picninc



It would be fun, she said. We could just spend time, she said. But here she is, now,  _ soaked, wet, drenched _ . And it’s all Mercedes’ fault.

“I— Mercie, I didn’t bring extra panties!”

Mercedes licks off her fingers. Ingrid watches her with rapt attention, eyes never leaving her girlfriend’s hand.

“I guess you’ll have to go commando, then?”

The smile is absolutely  _ evil. _

  1. Chairlift — Show U Off



Ingrid walks hand-in-hand with Mercedes. “This is my girlfriend,” she says, her tone cheerful.

“Nice to meet you,” Mercedes says, shaking Sylvain’s hand. Ingrid can see the gears turning in her friend’s head. She stomps on his foot before leading Mercedes somewhere else.

“Father,” Ingrid says as they approach a greying old man. He has crow’s feet at his eyes, and they get bigger when he smiles and shakes Ingrid’s hand. “It is a pleasure to see you.”

“Likewise,” he says, stiff. “And who is this young lady?”

“Hello, sir. My name is Mercedes von Martritz. I am Ingrid’s—”

“—Fiancée.”

“Oh, um, that’s right…. Fiancée…”

  1. Lullatone — Magical…



The blue of Mercedes’ eyes are bright with glee as she reads a book to the children. She’d tagged along, today, only to accompany her girlfriend. And yet here she is, amongst the children, following along to Mercedes’ every word as she animatedly reads a children’s storybook.

“... And that’s how the tiger and the mouse became friends!”

“Miss Mercie! Miss Mercie!”

“Yes, Nathaniel?”

“Your wife smells really nice. Like the horses after they take a bath.”

Mercedes and Ingrid only look at each other, a silent conversation taking place between them by way of furtive glances towards the children. In the end, they decide to just go with it. “Yes… my wife takes care of her hygiene, as you should too, Nathaniel.”

  1. Carly Rae Jepsen — I Really Like You



There is a long string of text (one single wall of it) that has just arrived:

_ I really like you. Like really really really. Like really really really really… _

(It goes on for a bit. Mercedes gets the gist after one line.)

And then, at the end:

_ I’m scared of saying I love you because I don’t know if you love me too. _

Mercedes wonders how much her… girlfriend (was that the word? They hadn’t discussed it yet) has had to drink.

Mercedes texts back:

_ I really like you, too, Ingrid. Perhaps we should discuss this tomorrow? Come to my apartment after six. _

  1. David Sylvian — Let the Happiness In



She’s been lonely for the longest time. Ingrid had resigned, once, that she would die alone, perhaps her only companion her pegasus that she so dearly loves.

But here she is, now: tracing kisses over the stretch marks on Mercedes’ abdomen, revering every single one of them. “Pretty,” it’s a ghost of a whisper, barely a breath against Mercedes’ sensitive skin.

Her hands are on her thighs, then, holding them apart as she goes down, down, down…

  1. The Blue Nile — Downtown Lights



The downtown lights are not quite yellow. Ingrid isn’t sure what colour it is, only that it looks pretty reflected in Mercedes’ eyes—

A car honks at her, but thankfully Mercedes has already pulled her aside.

“Ingrid! What was that about?”

“I—” Her voice is shaking. “I just—”

Mercedes leads them away to a bench far away from the road. She brushes a thumb over Ingrid’s cheek. There was some water, probably splashed from the car earlier.

“I just… you’re pretty.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> also kasdjfhksd side note i have never written spicy stuff in my life ever before. thank u for ur consideration
> 
> if anyone wants to do this exercise you're more than welcome to!!! i'd like to read or we could do an exchange of sorts . I'm [on twitter](https://twitter.com/clonebutt) where lately i have been screaming about doropetra and mercigrid .


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